Mental Health - Tell Employeer?

LegacyUser

Hi,

thanks for taking the time to read this tread.

I've a performance review coming up at work and I know its going to go badly. As a result of mental health issues, which im currently seeking treatment for, my work has suffered as as a result. I havent actually missed days at work or anything, just my quality hasnt been up to standard. My employeer currently knows nothing of my situation or reasons behind it, just that my work has slipped.

Do I mention this in the meeting or will it just look like an excuse? Am I better to just take what they say on board and move on?

I work in a large fianancial organisation and dont want to be viewed as weak or vulnerable or for them to be thinking that Im just using this as an excuse....

Miss Fluff

I think that any personal information divulged to anyone within the workplace should be on a strictly need-to-know basis. Unfortunately there is quite a stigma relating to mental illness and unless you have a sympathetic line manager who understands then I wouldn't be going broadcasting it to anyone in work unless absolutely necessary. Are you sure the review is going to go badly? If you feel it necessary to provide some excuse then I'd come up with a white lie about having gone through a difficult time financially or something.

Procrastastudy

Depends on the mental illness. Are we talking stress or something unrelated to work? Are your employers generally muppetts or do they have a policy of looking after the workforce?

LegacyUser

I would keep it to myself op and I will tell you why.

I was in a similar situation to yourself, my work suffered because of mental health issues stemming from the suicide of a very close friend of mine. At the time I was basically doing the supervisors job anyway and looking after three teams of employees (I was not even supposed to be looking after one to be honest). I took a little time off after my friends death and had doctor certificates to cover myself. There was a guy in one of the teams named Paul and he was half the employee I was (This was told to me in confidence by my direct superior)

A vacancy for a supervisor position came up and I went for it, as did Paul. Guess who got it? And while I could not get HR to come out and admit it my supervisor told me off the record that it was because of my time off. The vacancy came up nearly a year after it I should add. So if I were in your position I wouldn't. You say your work has slipped, well let them say it to you that your work has slipped and you need to step your game up.

If you turn around and say "My work has slipped because of a mental health issue" you will be tarring yourself in their eyes, and trust me it would not be forgotten anytime soon.

I hope everything works out for the best for you

mood

I wouldn't tell them.

Dreedle

HI OP ,

i wouldn't mention anything to honest . I had to take half days a lot at work to attend a course for anxiety / OCD . i was wondering if i should mention it , maybe get it taken as sick leave instead of taking days leave but in the end it decided not to mention it at all.

They're a multinational company and i didn't want HR / management taking note of it as their is kinda a stigma about Mental Health at work. ( well my place anyway ) .

if your manager is ok ... maybe but i would just go to the review , it could be ok

Best of Luck.

Daisy M

Would it be possible to get a letter from your gp saying you were experiencing health issues in recent weeks without him disclosing what the issues are?

If your problems are recurring then you may at some point need to divulge this information, but if this is the first time your work has been affected then I think you would be better saying nothing for now.

Procrastastudy

OP if this is work related and you don't put your employer on notice you may have issues down the line if it gets worse. Your employers is under an obligation to assist you with any work related issues.

If its not - and I don't like saying this - I would also be quite careful how much I release to my employer. Now would I out-and-out lie? Probably not unless I worked for muppetts. The problem is if your Line manager has any people skills the first thing you will probably get asked is "Are there any personal issues effecting your work?" saying no and then being caught in a lie maybe more damaging to you long term.

I'm afraid its a balancing act you'll have to judge for yourself - I know thats not overly helpful. I wish you the best of luck.

LittleBook

Everybody is nervous coming up to a work evaluation, mental health issues or not.

You are addressing your issues and, hopefully, on the road to recovery. Just do the evaluation, keep your private life private for now and take it from there, there's no sense making yourself more stressed about this than maybe needs be.

I can tell you a story about one friend of mine who has the best employer I've ever heard of, who gave her the flexibility she needed to deal with her issues and in return got the most loyal and hard-working employee I know.

But I can also tell you of another friend of mine who is terrified that her employer will find out that she suffers from depression because she knows the adverse affects that will have on her current job and her career prospects in the industry she is in.

It can go either way but, in my opinion, you are not yet at the point where it is necessary to tell them, so I wouldn't advise it.

Just suck up the criticism (if any) at the evaluation and take it from there.

Moomoo1

please, for the love of all that's dear to you, do not tell them

employers search for the names of people they recruit on google not just to find FB photos of them in the gutter but also for things like this. Bit different since you're already in a job, but not much.

only exception would be if you do things like operating heavy machinery or driving, i.e. if your condition could endanger your and other people's lives. But I do not think that is the case here.

Diddler1977

This has some useful info which may be of some help
http://www.equality.ie/Files/Equality%20and%20Mental%20Health%20-%20What%20the%20law%20means%20for%20your%20workplace.pdf